Life Awaiting
by cruciolicous
Summary: DH spoilers! What happens between the last chapter and the epilogue? Happenings at Hogwarts, as well as HarryxGinny's relationship. Oneshot.


**A/N:** This is my view of what happened in between the last chapter of the Deathly Hallows and the Epilogue. Harry/Ginny; oneshot. Feel free to comment and critique!

**Disclaimer: **I obviously don't own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong to J.K. Rowling.

_**This ****Fanfic**** has obvious DH spoilers, so if you haven't read the book, don't kill it for yourself! **_

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Harry picked the squashiest armchair in the empty common room, made himself comfortable, and closed his eyes. Two restless days after the heinous battle at Hogwarts with a jumble of celebration feasts, midnight parties, fixing the castle and moving the dead had taken up all his strength and ability to stand up straight. He didn't think he'd had more than a total of three hours of sleep in all that time. His attempted escape of the first feast two nights ago with Ron and Hermione had earned him nothing, for though the common room had seemed intact- if not vandalized –the boy's dormitories had been completely demolished. 

Harry did not know how he had even managed those stolen hours of peace in the last few days. Nor did he know why his energy had gone and refused to come back. Then Harry reminded himself that the group of him, Ron, and Hermione had attempted a robbery of one the most secured vaults at Gringotts a mere evening before the battle, been bruised and skinned by lava-hot treasure, double crossed by a goblin who had assisted them throughout most of the arrangement, and barely escaped on a blind, yet ferocious dragon onto the outcrops of a mountainous village. Harry sighed.

_Three days, _he thought. _That makes it three days. I free the world of the darkest wizard alive, and this is what I get__: three days of no sleep. _

Harry inwardly kicked himself for this thought, for he knew full well that he was the one who insisted upon staying to help, and he had done so every day since. He still felt personally responsible for all that had happened at the school and refused to budge before everything was put straight and the tributes paid to the deceased, who had been buried in a small section of grass near the lake. They were the first to be laid to rest at Hogwarts after Dumbledore, in obvious memory of those who had given their lives in the final battle against Voldemort. Snape, at Harry's insistence, was placed right beside Dumbledore, because for all Harry knew, none would've been possible without the two. As for Voldemort himself, Harry spoke strongly against the many violent ideas that were thrown at him, the most popular of which was to throw him across the lake and watch him become devoured by the Giant Squid. No, Harry thought it best to transfer it back to Tom Riddle's old orphanage, where the damage had truly begun.

Harry opened his eyes slowly and turned his head toward the star-strewn window in the deserted Gryffindor common room. Most of the people had left Hogwarts after a doing their share of recoveries, unlike Harry and a number of others (which included most of the Order and the Weasleys) who had promised to stay back till the very end. Summer had already taken an unexpected week-early start due to the recent events. He knew that this may be the last time he was here, and wondered how he would bare the thought of finally leaving his first and true home for good. He didn't know where he would go next. It was bad enough with everyone in the castle regarding him as some sort of God, stepping outside it would be traumatic.

However, Harry did have a something to look forward to, for he, Ron, and Hermione had been asked to go to the Ministry of Magic to see Kingsley in his new temporary (soon to be permanent) job as Minister of Magic sometime later in the week. Harry was used to being summoned for awkward grounds such as these, for his mere presence seemed be revered in every occasion. Yet this was not the real reason Harry wanted to go, for he could tell from the tone of Kingsley's patronus that there was more to what he and his friends were being asked to do. He had a good feeling about it.

Harry closed his eyes once again. He supposed he should be making his way up to the newly refurbished dormitory to take full advantage of this blessed opportunity, but decided that he could not move. Just when his thoughts drifted wildly to Quidditch, and a picture of his long lost Firebolt drifted into his mind, Harry heard a soft creak of wood and felt something light land upon the arm of his chair. He thought vaguely of Crookshanks prowling down the dormitory steps to make his way to Harry. Then it crossed his mind that Crookshanks hadn't been there to press the knot of the Whomping Willow two nights ago, that he hadn't traveled with Hermione all along, and that he couldn't possibly be in the Common Room. Just as Harry considered this, he felt something cool upon his forehead, causing him to jerk involuntarily and open his eyes in blinding haste.

What he saw was a blur of red, and as he blinked furiously to make sense of it, he felt the touch on his forehead recede. After a few seconds of confusion, Harry realized that the red belonged to Ginny's hair, who was perched upon the arm of his chair. Heart pounding in his head from both the unexpected start and dismay at losing her comforting touch, Harry sat up. He found Ginny staring at him with what he thought was concern, mingled with something else he could not discern. He had a startling urge to smile, but knew better of it. She turned around in her spot leaving Harry to stare at her back.

"I'm sorry I scared you," she said.

"Not at all," replied Harry quietly.

Silence.

"Ginny-"

"Just tell me one thing Harry," she turned to face him again. "That stupid stunt of yours…was it necessary? Playing dead?"

And this time Harry let the smile approach. How could he answer that? When the time came soon, he would tell her everything, just as he had told Ron and Hermione. But he wasn't ready to repeat his story just yet.

To his relief, Ginny smiled back and did not press for an answer. She placed a cool hand upon his forehead, smoothed away his sweaty bangs, and touched his scar gingerly.

"You look awful by the way," she said absentmindedly, leaning in closer.

"Yeah?" Harry closed his eyes.

And their lips met. It was a soft kiss, no more forceful than it needed to be, but in it, Harry put everything he wanted her to know: how he had thought of her relentlessly, and how sorely he wanted her back.

When they finally broke apart, Ginny stood up and surveyed him.

"I'll leave you to get some rest," she said. "I wasn't joking when I said you looked awful."

Harry grinned and nodded sleepily. She gave him another quick peck on the cheek and left the Common Room. Harry got up clumsily and made his way up the dormitory stairs to do as Ginny suggested. As he lay in bed fully clothed, Harry thought that he had never felt happier, and closed his eyes so as to fully appreciate his new life.

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